Shonnie the Shooter


Shonnie the Shooter

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We follow clay pigeon shooter John MacDonald,

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from the Highlands of Scotland to Delhi...

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-Pretty much a dream come true, here.

-..and beyond...

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It's just dawned on me where I am.

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..as he strives to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics.

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You can see how much it does mean.

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My main thing is just never give up.

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31-year-old John MacDonald, also known as Shonnie,

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is one of Scotland's top clay pigeon shooters.

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He lives in Acharacle in the West Highlands

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where he runs a deer stalking and venison business.

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Shonnie's family is hugely important to him.

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He lives with his girlfriend, Emma, and two minutes from his father,

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Fergie - the well known traditional musician -

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his mum, Maureen, and sister, Morven.

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He regularly plays in the family band.

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You're getting better, boy.

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With very little financial backing,

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Shonnie has to work full time to fund his passion - shooting.

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Shonnie is about to embark on a momentous 18 months

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as he tries to hard to represent Team GB in the London Olympics 2012.

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I had my first shot of a shotgun, I think I was about eight year old.

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We put a... I think it was a can of Coke up

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and I blew the can off the post, that was the first shot I ever had.

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When he was two, we bought him a gun and we put a cork in it

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and he used to sit in the pram and the flies on the roof -

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at two, he would plaster them.

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So he was two when he fired his first shot.

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As a youngster, he was an awesome shot

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and in fact was the Scottish champion.

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When he was 15 years old -

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not Scottish junior champion, he was the Scottish champion.

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He beat all the best shooters in Scotland.

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Shooting is in Shonnie's blood.

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His grandfather was a renowned sniper in World War I.

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They were sniping in no man's land, which must have been horrendous.

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His parents are also accomplished shooters.

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As far as Scotland goes, Fergie here was shooting for the men.

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Maureen here, she was in the ladies' squad.

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Then we've got John here. So that's Mum, Dad and John.

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It's a very family thing.

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I won a lot as a junior,

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I lost interest and I went for things like football and stuff.

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Just a few year ago there,

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I thought I'd go back and just have a go at it.

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Ranking wise, I'm lying in second position at the moment,

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obviously there's room for improvement.

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In terms of the Scotland team, at the moment I'm lying first

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so that's putting me right in line for the Commonwealth Games in India.

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In Great Britain, to qualify for the team, we have five selection shoots.

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There's none in Scotland, sadly,

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so they're all kind of away games for us, if we think about it like that.

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What people tend not to realise is that being away,

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as far up here as we are,

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I'm probably the first to leave of any of the shooters

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and probably the last to return.

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Shonnie has broken into this rich man's sport

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and is now shooting on the world stage.

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However, his financial circumstances dictate the number of competitions he can attend.

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People don't actually grasp how differently we live up here, really.

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When I'm away at these shoots, tensed up, needing to clear your mind,

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you think of good things.

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One of those things is always being with the deer.

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Away from the deer here, I always miss my stalking.

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It's quite hard to say that you miss your work

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but it's always good, returning home to it.

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Shonnie regularly goes stalking with long-term friend and mentor, Angus MacLean.

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Since Johnny was able to walk, he was coming up the hill,

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and now, of course, he's of course 150% better than me at it,

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but he's younger.

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It doesn't really matter what he does, it's 150% all the time.

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But you would never know it

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because he would be the last person to say anything.

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(That's them, they're in between these two hills ahead of us here.)

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People probably see me at home with all the pet deer thinking,

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"How on earth can he possibly kill an animal as beautiful as a deer?"

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And they are beautiful, but it's my work.

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As you can see, first class.

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And it doesn't matter what he does, whether it's shooting

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or playing music, he's got great things ahead of him.

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Shonnie leaves the hills of Moidart behind

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and turns his attentions to his first World Cup in Dorset, England.

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Each World Cup offers international shooters the chance

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to win an Olympic quota place for their country.

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A quota place guarantees that someone from that country

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will compete in the 2012 Olympics.

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At this World Cup, he's competing against people

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who've been competing at a world level, sometimes for 20 years.

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So for a wee boy from Acharacle, it's quite a thing to think about.

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Shooters will compete over two days,

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participating in three rounds per day.

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They will shoot 25 targets per round,

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getting two attempts to hit each clay.

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The boys that are shooting, they have a laugh -

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every time I appear at a shoot, I've got someone different with me.

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Not women, normally, but Mum comes with me, Dad comes with me, Emma.

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The first time I ever came to the selection shoots,

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it was my sister, Morven.

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It good having that, especially Emma, we're close, we get on well.

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Chocolate brownies, made on the premises.

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I need that for my shooting, that's part of my routine.

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She makes them... Even if she's not with me, she makes a box, don't you?

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Aye, which your dad was loving last time.

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He ate more than I did.

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"That brownie, I just love it, Emma."

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It's about the worst thing you could possibly eat

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but for the purposes of sport, I guess it's allowed.

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It's about the only time you're allowed something like that.

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Whether it's right or not, it works for me.

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I think you like eating it and using that as a good excuse,

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that's what I think.

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But it's damn good brownie.

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You need strong support in the background.

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There's a lot of women whose husbands shoot

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and what they don't get on well with is the fact that their husband

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loves something more than he loves them, and that causes a lot...

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And of course, it's expensive. Any athlete, it's the same.

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If the person that's with them doesn't want to go along...

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well, I'm sorry.

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Like it or lump it, it's a case of just get on with it.

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"Bye-bye, John."

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John, of course, manages this between rounds properly.

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The coolest person you could come across.

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Aye, but it's like the old swan on the surface of the water -

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you don't know what's going on with his feet.

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The feet below.

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He's a strong man, mentally, and that's what you've got to be.

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I suppose in his genetic make-up, with the father that he has

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and the grandfather that he has, and whatever else,

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it's just in him, aye.

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After a disappointing first day, day two starts well,

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with Shonnie shooting 24 clays out of 25 in his first round.

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However, he's beginning to realise how stiff the competition really is.

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It's a complete eye-opener -

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you've got to come here to see the best in the world,

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and they really are - averaging 24s, 25s all the time.

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In order to compete against that, that's what I've got to step up to.

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25 straight, can't complain at that.

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Shonnie is delighted with full marks for round two.

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Can he maintain his performance and make the final?

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Very proud.

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Shot as well as I could have hoped for.

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Well, at least I've got the backing there, anyway, eh?

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Despite not making the final,

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Shonnie leaves Dorset with an impressive 118 out of 125.

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It's been four months since the World Cup in Dorset.

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Shonnie is now ranking UK number one.

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However, he has had little time to think about

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or practice for the imminent Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

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I've been three years building up to the Commonwealth Games

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and then they hit you with a date.

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You couldn't have picked three worse weeks in the year for me.

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I've been working up until the last minute here,

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flat out with the deer stalking.

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Once I got the last stag this morning, hanged it up

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and now I'm switched off from work and everything.

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I've organised it pretty well for the thing to run smoothly while I'm away

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so that should do, it should be fine.

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But it's just focusing now on Delhi and everything that's going to be

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thrown at me over the next three weeks.

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I spent a day and a half trying to install all this myself

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and I'm certainly no electrician or engineer.

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Putting it into perspective, I've got that here.

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Giovanni Pellielo - arguably the best shot that's ever shot Olympic trap -

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he's got his own 15-trap set-up, proper thing at home in Italy,

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so that's what I'm competing against.

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But in all honestly, I'm quite lucky

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because not many people can come out into their back garden

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and have a shot when they feel like it.

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I don't need a lot of practice,

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I just need a wee bit to keep my eye in.

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The top guys in the world,

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they're probably using 40,000 cartridges a year.

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This year - I just clocked it up, there.

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After the Commonwealth Games, it will be about 6,500 cartridges.

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That's the difference in a full-time shot and a part-time shot.

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I just try and compete with what I've got, you know?

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I've had a good year - this summer, I've been shooting for the British team,

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I've made it to number one in GB now,

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so all these wee things are just backing me up.

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But coming back and getting a chance to shoot for your own country,

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that's the pinnacle of it all.

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No-one's ever - from Scotland - come away with a medal.

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I'm confident I'll get a medal, yeah.

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Roll on Delhi, aye.

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Hours before Shonnie is due to fly to Delhi,

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he is still entertaining a shooting party from Germany.

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I'll certainly miss all this, yeah.

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It's the first time ever I've been away during the hunting season

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so if I come back with a gold medal, I'll be happy enough so.

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All the other events that I've shot this year,

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the big events, I've switched off, you know?

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No bother at all, it's been no problem.

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But this is a special time of year because of the feeling you get

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when the stags are rutting, the roaring's going -

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it's a great time of year.

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-Are you getting excited now, John?

-Not really, no.

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-Oh, you are!

-I'm not! It's everyone else who's getting hyped!

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With his business in safe hands,

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Shonnie turns his attention to packing.

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-There's your fudge brownie.

-Oh, well.

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Oh is that... There's not more than that, no?

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-I can't fit anymore, unless you want the huge, big...?

-Maybe, aye.

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I'm hoping he's OK away from home, because he's a bit of a home bird.

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It's not really in John to be going to Delhi and things like that.

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The most important thing of the lot would be the kilt.

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That's obviously for the opening ceremony and the closing ceremony

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and to woo the women as well, you know?

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He thinks I'm going to miss him so much when he's away

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but he's got another thing coming.

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All the best.

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It's 5am and Shonnie says his goodbyes

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before heading to Glasgow Airport.

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-And phone us.

-Aye, I will do, aye.

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Remember us, here.

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Won't be doing that to Emma.

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Medal. Definite. If not, doesn't matter.

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Right, off you go, now.

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Right, good luck.

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BEEPING

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I can't believe it, I can't believe that's him

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away to the Commonwealth really, but, yeah, very proud.

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I'm really proud of him, really proud.

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Good to see him in the uniform

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and just hope that he does his best and I know he's capable of doing it.

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Can't get a better day to leave Moidart, anyway.

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The stags were roaring last night so they were saying goodbye to you.

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That's a good memory to take with us.

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Once you get across the ferry, for me, that's it,

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switch off and away we go.

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This is the best team we've had for many, many years.

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If they do not win a medal, I will be amazed.

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It's exciting, isn't it?

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Don't get shot.

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Who's going to shoot me?

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I don't know. Somebody might shoot you.

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Good luck with everything.

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Bye, babe.

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You'll be fine. I love you.

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When I come back down that one, I'll have a medal.

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This is six days we've been here, our cartridges haven't arrived

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so it's a bit of a nightmare, we can't really train.

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I haven't been feeling very good at all.

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In terms of thinking about home, it's pretty hard, actually.

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I'm missing it like hell, in all honesty.

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Here we are on day seven.

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It's been, pretty much, the most difficult one yet.

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Although I'm not meant to know what's going on back home,

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Andy, my best friend,

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who's helping me out with the stalking while I'm away,

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there was bad news about his wife - she was rushed to hospital -

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so obviously that leaves everyone with a bit of a problem at home.

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I've been thinking about it all last night, too, so in all honesty,

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I never got a wink of sleep.

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We've got a big day tomorrow, we've got the opening ceremony,

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so everyone at home, hopefully, will be watching that

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and maybe see me, somewhere.

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Here we go.

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Absolutely fantastic, great feeling, what an atmosphere - wow.

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Pretty much a dream come true, here.

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Despite missing out on a bronze for the pairs shooting round

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by just one target, Shonnie's overall solo attempts

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were disappointing and he failed to qualify for the final.

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Still feeling unwell and struggling to manage difficulties at home,

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Shonnie flew back a week earlier than expected

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without a medal for Scotland.

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Reflecting on the year that's gone,

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it's been, in all honesty, an amazing year for me.

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I've been in certain corners of the world that I would never,

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ever have dreamed that I would have been there,

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so it's opened my eyes up to the world a hell of a lot.

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My first plan was to, obviously,

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represent Scotland at the Commonwealths, which I've achieved.

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Not as well as I should have,

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but it was a good achievement even being there.

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Really, the Olympics would be the ultimate goal,

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and knowing what I'm capable of, I feel that it's something I can grasp.

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It's a big year ahead. Once I came back from the Commonwealth Games,

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I wanted to rid myself of the whole thing and I want to start fresh.

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With the turn of the year now,

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adrenaline's going and it's just starting to wind up a bit more now.

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The nearer I get to Sydney, that's when I'll really start drawing in.

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I guess everybody gets homesick to a degree,

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but I love my home more than anything.

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The more I'm away and the more of these events I'm at,

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I'll hopefully get better at being away.

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The home of MacDonald, there it is.

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It's scenes like that that really spur you on and give you heart.

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It's been the breeding ground for many a good murderer and so on, so...

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HE LAUGHS

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..hopefully it will be a breeding ground

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for a good Olympian sportsman from Moidart.

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On Hogmanay, the family prepare for their annual gig.

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-Are we going in then, aye?

-Yeah.

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I said a seat right by the stage, so I can keep an eye on you.

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You should be as far away as possible,

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-so I can look at all the birds.

-Aye, I'll be watching that roaming eye.

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It's normally just Hugh, Dad and myself when he's away gallivanting.

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Even if there's no medals to come home,

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we're very proud that he's there,

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representing Scotland and Britain at everything that he does.

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We get by, but it's nice when he's here, it's nice when he is back.

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So many things have happened this year, it's been absolutely incredible.

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The Commonwealth Games, becoming number one in Britain,

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it's been absolutely amazing - amazing.

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2011, I would say a diamond ring and quota place for Sydney!

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Slainte mhor!

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Three, two, one, happy new year!

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BAGPIPES PLAY

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Shonnie travels to the other side of the world

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to represent Team GB at the World Cup in Sydney, Australia.

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Due to financial reasons, like Delhi, once again

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Shonnie is travelling without Emma or the family to support him.

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The Olympic team will be selected, really, on the performances

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at the major international overseas events

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leading up to the Olympic Games.

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This is the second World Cup of four this year,

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each World Cup having two quota slots.

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The big thing now is to win the second quota place

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which will then mean that two shooters

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will represent Great Britain at the Olympic Games.

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This is very important - very important indeed.

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After spending the week acclimatising

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and getting over jet lag, the three-day competition gets underway.

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Shonnie will shoot a total of 125 clays over three days.

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He will compete in five rounds, each worth 25 points,

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with the hope of winning a place at the coveted final at the end of the competition.

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A bit of a nasty start.

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Halfway through the round, Shonnie decides to change his technique.

0:21:270:21:32

I started looking higher. It felt absolutely great.

0:21:320:21:34

You'll not notice anything, unless I stand on one leg

0:21:340:21:38

or pull my shorts down at the back a wee bit. HE LAUGHS

0:21:380:21:41

At this level, it's not good enough.

0:21:430:21:45

If I've got any chance of doing it, I'll probably have to shoot

0:21:450:21:48

pretty much straight now. There's a team talk at 6:30 tonight

0:21:480:21:53

and those of us who need our bums smacked or booted will get that.

0:21:530:21:57

After a disappointing first day,

0:22:050:22:06

the pressure is mounting for Shonnie to up his game.

0:22:060:22:11

-How are you?

-Tired. And you?

0:22:110:22:13

23, 22, 22 - not good enough.

0:22:270:22:30

It's unlikely now that I would ever get near the final,

0:22:300:22:33

but back to the drawing board - never give up.

0:22:330:22:37

# I guess it's still worth fighting for... #

0:22:370:22:40

On a rare afternoon away from the ground, Shonnie has time to reflect.

0:22:410:22:46

It's kind of just dawned on me where I am after 11 days.

0:22:460:22:51

It really is spectacular.

0:22:510:22:53

I wish I was standing here knowing that I'd shot

0:22:530:22:56

probably 74 out of 75 and then I would be pretty happy.

0:22:560:22:59

This is great just to see, but that's as far as it would ever go.

0:23:000:23:05

I wouldn't swap my humble little abode at home with the deer surrounding us

0:23:050:23:10

and whatnot, so, no, definitely not.

0:23:100:23:13

Is that you, Ems? I know you're asleep, but I had to phone you.

0:23:160:23:20

I'm down at the Sydney Bridge and the Opera House and that just now.

0:23:200:23:25

It would be nice if you were here. Maybe I'd shoot better.

0:23:250:23:28

Yeah, I love you, too. Get back to sleep now.

0:23:280:23:31

Bye, Emma.

0:23:310:23:33

Bye.

0:23:330:23:35

She's wishing she was here. Quite sad, though, eh?

0:23:380:23:41

After shooting 45 out of 50 on day one

0:23:500:23:53

and 22 out of 25 on day two,

0:23:530:23:55

has Shonnie's sightseeing trip revitalised him

0:23:550:23:59

for the all-important day three - his last chance to make the final?

0:23:590:24:04

24, so it seems too little, too late,

0:24:090:24:16

but if I can finish on a high, anyway,

0:24:160:24:18

that's something to take to the next place, wherever I go.

0:24:180:24:21

APPLAUSE

0:24:350:24:38

Another 24, so it's pretty cool.

0:24:380:24:41

You know, your back's to the wall and then you pull that out of the bag.

0:24:410:24:45

Possibly 119 will make the final. I'm 115, so four targets off that,

0:24:450:24:53

which as I say, is not disastrous, but it's not good enough, basically.

0:24:530:24:58

So next time. Beijing, here we come, all guns blazing.

0:24:580:25:05

John shot very steady. A little bit disappointed, probably,

0:25:080:25:11

with the first couple of rounds,

0:25:110:25:13

but as the competition went on

0:25:130:25:16

he got more confident, began to flow,

0:25:160:25:19

and John, you know, has finished

0:25:190:25:21

as the high-scorer of the Great Britain three-man team.

0:25:210:25:25

Yeah, he's a consistent performer.

0:25:250:25:27

Despite shooting the best score out of the GB team,

0:25:270:25:32

it wasn't enough for Shonnie to win the quota place for Team GB.

0:25:320:25:35

The saying that rings in my mind is,

0:25:350:25:38

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

0:25:380:25:42

That's how I kind of... how I view things and move on.

0:25:420:25:45

Following another World Cup in Beijing and some important UK selection shoots,

0:25:470:25:51

the GB rankings have now been reordered.

0:25:510:25:55

It's not good news for Shonnie.

0:25:560:25:57

He is now sitting at number four in the UK,

0:25:570:26:01

one short of the all-important top three which make up Team GB

0:26:010:26:05

for the next round of World Cups and the last remaining chances

0:26:050:26:09

of winning a crucial quota place that would allow two shooters

0:26:090:26:12

to represent Great Britain at the London Olympics.

0:26:120:26:15

He comes to Glasgow to reflect on the last six months.

0:26:150:26:19

This year, I've lived the life of, what I would call a professional shooter,

0:26:190:26:22

to a degree and, actually, it hasn't suited me at all.

0:26:220:26:26

After the Beijing World Cup, I think I was still lying number one.

0:26:270:26:33

We got back and it was the beginning of the British selection shoots,

0:26:330:26:37

and you know, I was confident,

0:26:370:26:39

I felt good going to these things but performed really, really badly.

0:26:390:26:43

It's shot me back out of the team and it's blown my chances

0:26:430:26:49

of everything that I've been hoping for.

0:26:490:26:53

Now, looking at it all, I took away my kind of natural edge

0:26:530:26:58

by practising so much. It was doing probably more harm for me than good.

0:26:580:27:02

For my Olympic dream, anyway, it's looking slim.

0:27:020:27:05

I feel now it's probably too late and I feel that

0:27:050:27:09

I've let everybody down to a degree.

0:27:090:27:12

Realistically, I'm looking at the Commonwealth Games here now in 2014.

0:27:120:27:17

I'm sitting here, all the boys are at the World Championships in Belgrade,

0:27:170:27:21

and you know, there's nothing I can do

0:27:210:27:24

and it is an awful feeling, you know.

0:27:240:27:26

Sadly, this time, I think it's going to get away from me, you know.

0:27:260:27:30

I think you can see how much it does mean.

0:27:400:27:43

If it was my own choice, I wouldn't let this lie,

0:27:440:27:49

and even for the next Olympics,

0:27:490:27:55

I would make it, like. Yeah, definitely.

0:27:550:28:00

In the grand scheme of things, well, to me, it seems very trivial,

0:28:000:28:04

but I guess it's nice as well.

0:28:040:28:07

I've been instructed that I'm the most-successful shooter

0:28:070:28:11

that Scotland's ever had, but at the end of the day it's, for me,

0:28:110:28:15

it's not enough, you know. It'll always be digging at me.

0:28:150:28:21

# Resolute at the threshold

0:28:440:28:46

# Of the North Sea of my mind

0:28:460:28:50

# And a nod to the boredom that drove me here

0:28:500:28:53

# To face the tide and swim... #

0:28:530:28:56

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